Adam met Steve again after leaving Pierce's room.
Steve looked at him. Adam did not say much there. He only changed back from Diamondhead when the Omnitrix started beeping, then walked out with Steve.
Adam stayed quiet for most of the way.
He knew Pierce had not called him for a friendly talk. He also knew that saying too much in a S.H.I.E.L.D. building would only make things worse.
So he left with Captain America and kept his mouth shut.
At the same time, Nick Fury was looking at the file Natasha had taken from the Lemurian Star.
He had already locked his office. The windows had darkened, and the room was private. Fury placed the drive into the computer and tried to open the satellite launch file.
The file did not open.
Fury tried again.
The computer refused him again.
His face became colder.
He used his director authority next, but even that failed. The files were sealed.
Fury stared at the screen.
"On whose authority?"
The computer answered with his own name.
For a few seconds, Fury did not move.
If the file was locked under his name, then someone had used his authority without him. Fury understood enough from that one answer.
Fury stood up and went to Alexander Pierce.
Pierce had been speaking with the World Security Council. When he heard Fury was there, he ended the call and came out.
Fury did not waste time.
"Project Insight has to wait," Fury said.
Pierce looked at him. "That is not a small request, Nick."
"I need time," Fury said.
Pierce studied his face. "And if there is really something wrong?"
"Then we will be glad those Helicarriers are still on the ground."
Pierce stayed silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
The scene changed to the museum.
Adam was walking through the Captain America exhibit with his hands in his pockets.
The place was quiet compared to S.H.I.E.L.D. Old uniforms and photos sat behind glass, showing a life that Steve had already lived once. Adam looked at the old suit and almost felt strange.
He had watched this place in a movie before, but standing inside it felt different.
'According to the movie, Fury should be attacked soon,' Adam thought.
The thought stayed in his head while he walked past the displays.
Adam looked toward one side of the exhibit and then stopped.
Steve was there.
He had come in quietly, wearing normal clothes. He was looking at the displays with the face of someone who had been left behind by his own life.
Adam blinked.
"Cap?"
Steve turned and looked surprised. "Adam?"
Adam gave him a small smile. "I was sightseeing."
Steve looked around the exhibit, then back at him. "Here?"
"What? This place has you everywhere," Adam said. "It is basically your fan club with better lighting."
Steve almost smiled, but the expression did not fully reach his eyes.
Adam noticed it.
He knew the name tied to that look: Peggy Carter.
Steve had either met her recently or was carrying her memory after looking at all this. Either way, Adam could see that Washington did not feel like home to him.
They walked together through the exhibit.
Steve stopped near a display showing Bucky Barnes. Adam looked at the photo and kept quiet.
For once, he did not joke.
Steve's eyes stayed on the picture for a long moment.
"This place is full of memory," Steve said.
Adam looked at him. "Because it is about you?"
"Because it is about everyone I knew," Steve said. "And I am the only one walking through it."
Adam did not have a joke ready for that.
He only stood beside him.
After a while, Adam said, "For what it is worth, you are not walking alone right now."
Steve looked at him.
Adam shrugged. "Do not make it emotional. I am still charging you for emotional support later."
This time Steve did smile a little.
By evening, both of them returned to the apartment building.
The hallway was quiet when they reached Steve's floor. Adam was about to head toward his own apartment when the woman from next door came out while speaking on her phone.
She ended the call when she saw them.
"My aunt does not sleep much," she said, then gave Steve a small smile.
Steve tried to answer normally. "If the laundry downstairs is busy, you can use my machine."
Adam turned his head slowly toward him.
'Smooth,' Adam thought. 'Very smooth, grandpa.'
The woman smiled. "Thanks, but I already have a load downstairs."
Steve nodded like that had been a normal conversation.
The silence was starting to become awkward, so Adam lightly bumped Steve's arm with his elbow.
"Coffee," Adam whispered. "At least say coffee."
Steve gave him a look.
The woman caught the whisper and smiled again.
"Maybe another time," she said. Then her eyes moved toward Steve's door. "Sounds like your radio is on."
Steve's expression changed just a little.
"Right," he said. "Thank you."
Adam also looked toward the door.
He knew what was supposed to happen next.
"I will leave before this becomes painful," Adam said.
He went into his own apartment and closed the door.
The smile left his face almost at once.
He stood near the door and waited.
For a short while, there was only silence.
Then gunshots cracked through the wall.
Adam's body went still.
He waited a few seconds, just enough for the main shot to pass and the room outside to change.
Then he opened his door and moved to Steve's apartment.
The door was open.
Inside, Nick Fury was lying on the floor, badly wounded and unresponsive.
The woman from the hallway stood near him with a gun in her hand. Her voice was sharp now as she spoke into a communication device and called for medical help.
Adam looked past her.
The window had been smashed open.
Steve had already gone through it, chasing the man who had fired the shot.